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Stalked: Rachel Boston, Jewellery Designer at London Fashion Week

8 September 2014

I've had rather of a jewellery crush on this little lady ever since she released her collection 'The Protector', which are a series of beetles and scorpions. It was hard to resist a little mid month purchase of the beautifully delicate but fierce 'Stag Ring', with rock 'n' roll jewellery like this, I'm like a child in a sweet shop!

Rachel Boston, a
London born and based jewellery designer and maker, graduated in
Jewellery Design from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design. Her signature aesthetic of pure
and strong forms find inspiration from unconventional sources: looking to
nature, contemporary culture and high fashion to celebrate both the beautiful
and the damned.

Rachel's long list of press include features in magazines such as, W Magazine, Elle, InStyle, Grazia, and Vogue.I caught up with this lovely lady as she prepares for London Fashion Week and her to-die-for pooch Betty, who I think you'll all agree slightly stole the show!!!

What made you
decide you wanted to be a jewellery designer? And what do you love about
your job?

I was very lucky that
I knew what I wanted to do very early on. During Design & Technology
classes at school I always based my projects on jewellery and I made a lot of
really horrible crafty pieces at home during the holidays and I knew that I
loved working with my hands and especially working with metal. I love how
flexible my job is, I’m never just stuck doing one task. One day I’m making a
bespoke engagement ring the next day I’m shooting a lookbook for my new
collection. It’s such a varied job and because of that I have to learn so much
every day which I find challenging and therefore hugely satisfying.

What are your main
influences?

Nature has been the
most obviously prevalent theme for my first two collections, but actually
reflecting on them further I think magic and hidden meanings has been the strongest
link. It was the historic and symbolic attributes of the beetle that originally
attracted me to them for my first collection, and the second collection The
Ritual was inspired by natural ingredients used in ancient magic spells. The
talismanic nature of jewellery was one of the things that drew me most to it
when I was younger so it is unsurprising really that my collections have always
had that that as an underlying theme. My new collection RUNES is no
different.

What's your latest
collection all about?

RUNES is my first fine
jewellery collection which I’m incredibly excited about. All the pieces have
been made in 18kt gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and specially hand cut
white sapphires. It was inspired by the runic alphabet which was used by the
Anglo-Saxons for writing and magical purposes. Runes carved on talismans,
swords and rings could act as charms to protect their owner and ward off evil,
and runes cast in lots could be read for signs and omen. The resulting
collection is very linear and geometric which I love because you can wear loads
of the pieces at once and they don’t overwhelm each other or you can wear just
one and it still stands out.

You have done
incredibly well considering your brand is so young, what advice would you give
to jewellery designers graduating this year?

I would recommend
perseverance, focus and a whole lot of hard work.

What do you love about London Fashion Week?

I’m stuck at my stand most of the time when I’m showing so I love checking out everyones outfits who come through Somerset House. Also it’s great to meet new people and be surrounded by a lot of talented designers who have a similar interests. Also the after parties!

Who are your favourite fashion designers?

I love Azzedine Alaia, Acne and Alexander Wang. Alaia is in a world of it’s own for truly stunningly structured pieces, I have some pieces that were my Mother’s and whenever I have a special event to go to I will wear them and they are still as modern as when she wore them over 30 years ago.

Where do you shop and where do you eat in London?

I’ve always been a big vintage hunter so even though in East London it’s really over saturated with vintage shops now I feel like it still has the best selection so I visit markets and shops around here always looking for a star piece. Otherwise I love Goodhood and Opening Ceremony as they’ve always got a really good mix of fun pieces and more laid back looks.

Currently my burger obsession has been replaced by a sandwich addiction and my friend has a food truck on Berwick Street called SubCult which do the tastiest subs in London so I would definitely recommend them for a visit. Otherwise you’ll probably find me in Dishoom with an unhealthy amount of cheesy naan.

Five items you
can't live without?

Fekkai Brilliant
Glossing Cream- I’m half Venezuelan and have a lot of unruly thick hair as a
result so I could not survive without my smoothing cream which gives it a nice
shiny look.

Playstation 3 - I love
my PS3 so much it’s hard to imagine life without it. I ban myself from playing
during new collection time but when I have some downtime it’s a great way to
blow off some steam.

Leather Jacket - I
have way too many leather jackets, I counted the other day and I’m up to 6 now
even after have given some vintage ones away. My favourites are my Acne black
leather jacket and a Phillip Lim 3.1 black and leopard find I got on ebay for a
quarter of the price.

Work bench: All my
jewellery is handmade in my studio in London and I love the making process so I
need my work bench for my creative outlet.

Passport - I love to
travel and spend a lot of time planning future adventures so this one is vital!